6-21-13 Sunol

A couple of months ago I heard about the Regional Parks Trails Challenge. It didn't sound like my kind of thing except for the promise of a free t-shirt. I could use a new t-shirt, so I checked it out. At first I was just curious about what trails they listed for the challenge, but the website won't let you see the trails until you register and wait a couple of weeks. I thought that maybe instead of waiting, I could go to one of the part visitor centers listed and ask someone about it. One of them was at Sunol, so I decided to go there and I might as well do a hike while I was there. I thought maybe it wouldn't be open on a weekday, so I looked at the EBRDPD website and all it said was that it was closed on Thanksgiving.

So I arrive at the park, and the visitor center is all locked up and there's no one around. I had been thinking of hiking to Maguire Peaks, a pretty long hike, but it was a hot day, and I didn't feel that energetic. Instead, Darby and I hiked the Canyon View Trail to Little Yosemite. It starts off with a steep climb for the first half mile or so, and we were soon quite hot and tired. As the trail levels off and bends around the shoulder of a ridge, we could hear running water in the canyon below, and Darby kept veering off the trail and trying to head for it down some very steep slopes. I put him on the leash to keep him with me and we made it down to the trail junction at Little Yosemite. We could hear some young guys down among the rocks, spashing around and making a lot of noise. I took Darby down to the water a little below them. He enjoyed wading around and drinking his fill.

I had intended to finish the hike by going down the gravel road, but we found a fence across it and a sign saying that the area was closed because of the construction of the new Calaveras Dam. So we reluctantly headed back the way we had come, climbing a couple hundred feet back up out of the canyon. We passed a young couple, and as we passed the woman said "Mr. Newey!". It was Marissa, a friend who we had known for quite a few years because of our horses. I didn't expect to see her on foot. She is a very talented young woman who is home for summer vacation while going to veterinary school in Dublin, Ireland. On our way back we passed several other groups of young people who appeared to be on their way to play in the water. There were a couple of teen-age girls hiking in skimpy bikinis. I didn't tell them that although the creek was running, there wasn't a whole lot of water there.

3.5 miles, 800 ft. climb